JUNE 28, 1943
A BUSY NIGHT!
CHIEFS, CANNONS EACH MAKE MAJOR TRADE
It was almost as if the league decided to make up for two full seasons of inactivity, trepidation to trade has overtaken FABL ever since the war began but in one evening two major bombs were dropped that saw both the Chicago Chiefs and Cincinnati Cannons add veteran outfielders. And this on top of the multiple deals made in the past two weeks. So much for baseball's effort to curtail war-time transportation as there will be plenty of ballplayers riding the rails today headed for new destinations.
The big move saw the long-awaited deal out of Brooklyn as the Kings sent 5-time Whitney Award winner Al Wheeler, along with 30 year old pitcher Bob Cummings -a two-time all-star- to the Windy City in exchange for four prospects including Joe Rutherford and Mel Haynes.
Moments later, and perhaps in reaction to seeing their Federal Association rivals had strengthened even further with the acquisition of the Brooklyn duo, the Washington Eagles took a glance towards the future with a decision to ship veteran outfielder Sam Brown -another two-time all-star- to Cincinnati in exchange for much of what was left in the Cannons farm system after earlier deals to add all-star Billy Dalton veteran pitcher Chris Clarke.
In full the two trades were laid out as follows:
The Chicago Chiefs receive 35 year old outfielder Al Wheeler (.241,9,31) and 30 year old righthanded pitcher Bob Cummings (2-6, 3.41) from Brooklyn in exchange for 4 minor leaguers: pitcher Mel Haynes (AAA OSA#52), pitcher Bob Crowley (military service OSA#28), outfielder Joe Rutherford (military service OSA#44) and catcher Sam Clarke (Class C OSA#152).
The Cincinnati Cannons receive 32 year old outfielder Sam Brown (.313,3,33) in exchange for the Cannons first round draft pick next January, outfielder Bill Lewis (.148,1,6) along with pitching prospects Frank Porter (Class C OSA#64) and George Scruggs (military service OSA#183) as well as young 1B-OF Maurice Carter (AAA OSA#126).
Lost in all of the excitement of the two big deals was a third transaction. This one very minor in nature but still another trade as the Cougars sent 28 year old minor league shortstop Freddie Bennett to the New York Stars in exchange for an 8th round draft pick. The Stars, who a week ago unloaded veteran outfielder Chink Stickels (.187,1,18) -another former all-star- to Toronto and pitcher Chris Clarke (5-7, 3.49) to Cincinnati for draft picks, were actively searching for anyone with a glove good enough to man the shortstop position at Dyckman Stadium, which has become a major issue since the Navy claimed Joe Angevine.
*** PENNANT FAVOURITES ***
Going into the season the Chiefs were considered by this publication to be the team to beat in the Federal Association and the addition of Wheeler and Cummings seems to further cement that position. Chicago is 3 games up on both Boston and Washington, who share second spot, and one has the feeling the gap will only widen in the coming months. Wheeler has been hot and cold the past few season and, at 35, is often a defensive liability in right field but he remains one of the most feared power hitters in the game and his pull-hitter power stroke should thrive in Whitney Park with it's 297 foot right field line. Not to mention the fact his bat will be much more protected in the deep Chicago lineup than it was in Brooklyn. Cummings' 2-6 record makes one think he is struggling but a quick glance at his run support - a miniscule 1.5 - tells the story that if he can cut down a bit on his walks, which are a little high this season, he could thrive in Chicago.
Cincinnati entered the season as a challenger for the Continental crown but here at TWIFB it was felt the Chicago Cougars were too tough after adding veteran third baseman Hank Barnett from the Chiefs over the winter. A hot start for the Cincinnati nine prompted management to pull the trigger on a deal last week to bring in third baseman Billy Dalton and fill the club's biggest hole. By addressing their other weaknesses in pitching depth and an elite rightfielder, the additions of Clarke and Brown, seem to point to the Cannons perhaps now being the team to beat in the CA.
Of course there is still just over a month until the trade deadline and Toronto has already added one piece in outfielder Stickels so the Wolves may just continue to add to their pack. Then there are the Chicago Cougars, who have an offense that still rivals Cincinnati even with the Cannons newcomers, along with plenty of pitching. It is highly unlikely the Cougars are not going to respond with a move of their of some kind in order to try and tilt the balance back in their favour.
One thing is certain. The last couple of weeks have clearly illustrated the hesitation to talk trade and make moves in this time of turmoil, when the war has robbed every team of star players and key depth pieces. The paralysis that had set in over the enter league has been cured. The question is will that lead to even more big deals over the next 32 days?
COUGARS ANNOUNCE LATE DEAL WITH BROOKLYN
Moments after we finished the above article that ended asking if more big deals were on the way we received our answer. The Chicago Cougars added to their starting pitching depth by acquiring Brooklyn's former number one arm in lefthander Art White. The 31 year old White (5-6, 2.70) has been the ace of the Kings rotation the past few seasons and is a three-time all-star including last season. He also was a key contributor as a young pitcher to the Kings 3 consecutive pennant winning teams in the mid-1930s.
The one possible worry is White missed the final two months of last season with a shoulder injury that ended up taking most of the winter to heal. The good news is he looks no worse for wear this season and was once again at the head of the Kings rotation. OSA calls him a solid mid-rotation arm and he fits nicely into a deep mix of veterans and youngsters the Cougars have accumulated with their moundsmen.
The youth movement is in full swing now in Brooklyn as White follows Al Wheeler and Bob Cummings, who both left for Chicago very recently but bound for the Federal Association Chiefs rather than the Continental Cougars. For White, Brooklyn receives 4 pitching prospects, two of whom are in the military. The key piece is considered to be Leo Hayden, a 20 year old lefthander who was a 1942 second round pick and ranks 3rd on the Cougars deep list of prospects and 53rd overall by OSA. Hayden is in the Army Air Corps so will not join the Kings system for some time. 21 year old righthander Harry Stewart was also part of the deal and he, like Hayden, is in the Air Force. The other two players joining the Kings organization are 21 year old Oliver Allen, a 1938 4th rounder who went 9-2 with a 3.58 era at AA Mobile this season, and 21 year old Pinch Lenhart, a 1941 9th round pick who was 4-1, 2.63 at Class B San Jose.
CANNONS LOAD UP FOR PENNANT PUSH
But Pressure Is Immense To Win The Continental Crown
The pieces are all in place. Now it is up to Cincinnati Cannons skipper Ad Doria and his charges to deliver the goods. The Cannons front office dealt away a large chunk of it's future -but did manage to hang on to top prospect and current US Marine Dick Blaszak- in order to position the team the best it has been to have a chance to win a title since shifting to the Queen City. It might well be the best Cannons team ever assembled - certainly the best in well over a decade as there were some lean years in Baltimore- but that is no guarantee of a pennant.
Fans rejoiced and excitement grew as each new acquisition was announced. First there was Billy Dalton -the two-time all-star and defending World Champion- that arrived from New York. A natural leader who immediately commanded respect in the Cannons clubhouse despite a rough opening week at the plate, Dalton seems to be the perfect answer for the inability of the Cannons to find a dependable third baseman who could both hit and field.
The excitement grew as news that 30 year old southpaw Chris Clarke was coming over from the Stars. There was some worry about Roger Perry's age and ability to be the consistent #5 starter and there is always ongoing concern about the durability of talented youngster Vic Carroll so Clarke adds veteran depth to the rotation.
Then more big news came last night in the form of the addition of 32 year old Sam Brown from Washington. Brown is an outfielder who was hitting .313 this season which is a clear nod to his consistency as that also happens to be his career batting average after a decade - and two all-star selections- in the nation's capital.
The cost was huge. The Cannons have moved their first, second and fourth round draft picks next year and gutted their farm system. It could have been even higher as several rumours linked the Cannons to a pair of other potential deals that would have sacrificed much more than the eventual cost of Brown :the age of the rightfielder helped dampen the pain felt by scouting director Bill Barnhart as he was informed of each proposed deal.
Will it eventually come back to haunt the Cannons? Just look north to Cleveland for an example of what stocking up to make a title run or two can do to a team's future. But then Foresters fans, while certainly lamenting their current predicament, would likely be of one voice saying they would not trade that 1934 WCS title or 1935 pennant for a chance to be contenders each year but never a champ. Let's hope a couple years from now the Cannons are celebrating titles of their own, and if so, we can readily accept whatever hurdles the future present us. But the key is the Cannons must win to make it worthwhile. And win now as, while the tide seems to be turning in the war, the past year has shown us there are no guarantees any of these key players will be back next season, or that there will even be a next season.
TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN
Toronto Fans Welcome Stickels: Fans in Toronto are applauding the acquisition of Chink Stickels. He will be patrolling CF on a regular basis so Juan Pomales moves to LF and Larry Vestal to the bench. Ed Marshall became a victim of the numbers game and has waived, management hopes he will pass through waivers then help the youngsters in either Buffalo or Chattanooga. The much maligned OF of the Wolves has a total of 26 assists this season led by Pomales dozen, adding Stickels should further solidify the wide open spaces.
Hal Wood is forcing himself into a semi-regular role around the infield given his .341/.408/.385 slash line. He will be rotated between 2B, 3B, SS probably starting 4 or 5 times a week. Charlie Artuso's bat has yet to wake up this season as .222/.288/.317 attests, his defensive play, thankfully, has not suffered but his bat will be moved lower in the lineup.
Toronto management is busy sorting out the lower levels of the system with the influx of players from the recent draft. A few players have been flushed from the system with more to follow in coming days.
Fan interest, buzz is high around Dominion Field. The common question is "Will more moves be made to counter Cincinnati's wild acquisition spree and hold off the surging Cougars squad? Wolves official's comments are either "No comment." or "We are always looking to improve the product on the field." Wolves may need another power bat or a speedster, Attendance is up almost 2500 per game which bring a smile to owner's Bernie Millard's face.
FALL OF A CHAMPION :It seems we've seen this before. In 1926 the Gothams won the FA pennant, only to fall to 6th then 8th over the next three seasons. Then a return to the top in 1930-31 followed by an 8th place finish in '32. Of course the Gothams faithful know what happened after the 1935 FABL championship; a half decade wandering the lower depths of the FA. Now after a somewhat surprising return to the mountaintop in 1942 there is the almost as shocking plummet to the bottom this season.
In the past this has often been attributed to managements motto of "If you're not competing, you may as we'll be last." But that has usually been paired with the movement of much of the roster. So far this season only Billy Dalton has been traded with a look towards the future. The write wouldn't be surprised if other moves were made. With war still raging around the globe the return of key members of last year's champs remains a mystery. Can the team wait for the return of Brewer, Monier, Edwards, Carter and company? Will they be the players they once were? Or should the team look for their replacements?
And what of the players still in New York? Surely the team is disappointed that the late season heroics of pitchers Gus Goulding and Rusty Petrick did not carry over to this year. They remain the same unpredictable, inconsistent starters they've always been. Sure the war has taken a toll on all teams, but the Gothams, in pushing to win last seaosn seem particularly ill equipped to replace their players turned soldiers.
Anxious Gothams fans wonder if it is to be another run of seasons at the bottom, waiting for their heroes to return.
DICK LYONS CONTINUES TO ROAR IN CHICAGO: After a resurgence at 37 in 1938, it's looking like the youthful Dick Lyons has found another level well into his 40s. He celebrated his 43rd birthday with a loss, but Lyons allowed just 5 hits, a run, and 3 walks in 7 effective innings. Since then he's won both of his starts, tossing 8 and 7.2 shutout innings against the Saints and Stars. For the season Lyons is now 5-3 with a 2.00 ERA (171 ERA+) and 0.98 WHIP in 94.1 innings pitched. There are only three pitchers in all of baseball with a lower ERA or ERA+, his WHIP is a tenth higher then league leader Rufus Barrell, and his 1.1 BB/9 is 0.3 points better then any qualified FABL hurler. Lyons has shown how beneficial it is to throw slowly, but accurately, as the lefty has never even grazed the 90s while throwing over 3,600 big league innings with no ailment more serious then a cold
- A week late but congrats to Hank Barnett who recorded his 2,000th career hit! It was a single on the first pitch off Hank Mittan in the 2nd of a recent Cougars 11-6 loss. One of the premier sluggers in the game, Barnett owns a .291/.371/.455 (127 OPS+) batting line in 1,828 career FABL games. He's having another good season in Chicago, batting .304/.402/.390 (129 OPS+) with 4 homers and 27 RBIs in 60 games this season.
- Congratulations as well to minor league pitcher Jim Hinkle for a perfect game. Even in the minors a perfect game is a rare achievement and Hinkle's gem, which included 14 strikeouts in Dubuque's 4-0 win over Marshalltown yesterday was just the second perfect game in Upper Mississippi Valley Association history. The 19 year old was an 11th round selection of the Montreal Saints in the 1942 rookie draft.
- A familiar refrain from New York as the Gothams brass is dealing with unreliable pitching once more: "It seems I have enough offense. And the middle infield defense has been shored up. But unfortunately (Gus) Goulding and (Rusty) Petrick have returned to being the same below average starting pitchers they were before last years stretch run. That was a pleasant mirage that led to a championship, but the clock struck midnight. And of course there's Babe Adams who can't stay healthy for more than a week.
- Things might not be going well for the Detroit Dynamos but their 41 year old third baseman Frank Vance had a big week. Vance went 10-for-21 with a pair of homers and was named Federal Association player of the week. Those two homeruns raised his career total to 267, moving him past Joe Masters and into 10th all-time.
- We haven't heard any big names leaving in a while but that doesn't mean that Selective Service is no longer drafting ballplayers. Far from it and this week is was 20 year old Billy Bryant of the Arlington Patriots -Boston's Class B affiliate- that got the call. Bryant was a first round pick of the Minutemen two years ago and widely considered the club's top prospect. The latest estimate indicates 974 pro ball are in the service.
NAVY TRAINEES WILL PRESENT FIVE TEAMS
Football fans can give thanks that at least one branch of the armed services, Naval Pre-Flight, knows right where it stands about the game next fall. Naval Pre-Flight will play!
While major colleges wonder whether they should stay in or get out, and the Army is undecided about allowing its trainees to compete in intercollegiate games, the Navy released a statement today: "Football gives the people the same thing war does, only without guns and bayonets, and we can't do without it."
Naval Pre-Flight will have five 'varsity' teams on the field at Chapel Hill, NC; Athens, Ga; Iowa City, Iowa; and pair of California teams in Del Monte and St Mary's.
COLLEGES MAKE DRASTIC REVISION OF SPORTS CODE
Virtually every conference and independent school in the AIAA has lifted its rigid athletic eligibility barriers for the duration, thus assuring sports participation for every student - whether he be a freshman, sailor, soldier, Marine or a holder of a 4-F card. The head of the Great Lakes Alliance summed it up this way:
"We don't want our boys to worry about their eligibility. This move was designed to erase all obstacles until our students return after the war. It may help relieve or shortage of football players this fall but we are not thinking in terms of 'intercollegiate' sports any more, but rather in terms of how we best can train men for the armed forces. I've always maintained that the Great Lakes Alliance will have good representation on the football field this fall."
The Deep South Conference echoed similar plans and while encouraging each school to carry on with football if it was able, the group adopted a "play-as-you-go" plan under which each institution will operate with a minimum of control from the conference. That paves the way to allow schools that need to drop the sport the ability to cancel any schedule contracts without penalty, provided notice is given to the other party concerned not later than July 15, 1943. Mississippi A&M and Northern Mississippi have already given such notice with several other Deep South schools on the verge of following their lead.
The latest action augments earlier moves which waived residence rules and removed the ban on freshman participation in varsity sports. Now, now competition by any athlete will be assed against his record when he returns after the war. Servicemen-athletes of one school who have been shifted to other universities for specialized training will, therefore, be assured of keeping their eligibility intact at their original school although they may compete on varsity teams where they are stationed.
*** MUST NOT BE PAID ***
The only eligibility requirements to be enforced are those of regular enrollment in school as a student and the nonreceipt of pay for athletic services. Scholastic eligibility has been left up to each university, with the expectation that each "will continue to maintain and enforce standards in such respect suitable to its condition in the current emergency."
Summing up their action, the faculty men stated: "Many of the conference rules of eligibility are the outgrowth of considerations which have little, if any, force during the present emergency. Competition during the war period sponsored by a college or university shall not be deemed 'intercollegiate; as such a term is used in conference rules and regulations."
It looks like business as usual, for the most part, for college basketball teams. While the quality of play will certainly be affected, most schools feel they will have no trouble gathering enough players to continue to operate, noting it does not take as much time to train courtmen as football players, nor as much space to transport them.
The Bigsby Gardens are laying out plans for another full slate of doubleheaders with the hope to have them occur twice a week this season. There is expected to be a much greater focus on local teams to reduce travel, and a Gardens spokesman indicated the hope is to fill out the schedule with military teams if not enough college fives can be convinced to make the trek to New York City.
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 6/27/1943
- Armoured Troops had to be called in to quell race rioting in Detroit that left 25 people dead and more than 700 injured.
- As strikes continue to paralyze mining, the Federal Government was considering implementing a 'permanent' Federal organization to operate all coal mines for the duration. Instead, the Feds took over until October 31, ordering miners back to work immediately - an edict with which they complied.
- A Congressional mandate has been given to President Roosevelt calling for FDR to put John J. Lewis in jail if he calls for another coal strike.
- Italy orders 2 million women to begin working in defense plants.
- First Naples and then Italy's largest naval base -at Spezia- were the latest targets of Allied bombers.
- reports indicate that Count Galeazzo Ciano, Mussolini's son-in-law, has been dispatched to Germany to plead with Hitler for urgently needed Italian aid to help Italy old off air assaults and possible invasion.
- RAF forces continue to hit Germany's shattered, smoking Ruhr Valley while also downing close to 100 enemy fighters in aerial battles.
- US airman carried out a double-barreled attack on Japanese strongholds in the Gilbert Island group, hitting Tarawa and the same time another bomber formation struck at Nauru.